Transmission of pictures



May 14-, 1929. A. BISSIRI TRANSXISSION OF PICTURES Filed Jan. 4, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor: Au gusto Biss'wt,

His Attorneg.

May 14, 1929. A. BlSSlRI TRANSMISSION OF PEECTU'RES 2 mo 2: P

m. a l .m E g-Mi P H-M-M-h- .i'ii.

Inventor. Augusto Bissir-L,

b9 His gfcornexg.

' ated by the provision of a continuously Patented May 14,1929.

LUGUSTO BISBIBI,

v; UNITED-"STATES {PATENT-1 op -ICE. I 1

rmsirrssron or ricrmms.

Application filed January 4, 1928. Serial no. 244,531.

My invention relates to the transmission of pictures or the like, and has for its principal object the provision of an improved ap-v paratus and method of operation whereby pictures may be readily transmitted from one point to another.

In the past, various picture transmitting apparatus comprising either a radio transmitter and receiver or a transmitter and receiver interconnected by electrical conductors have been provided. Many of these apparatus involve the use of both means for producing a light dependent on the shade of the picture to be transmitted and means for convertingsuch light into electrical impulses which must be reconverted to light at the receiving station. Such apparatus is not altogether satisfactory because it is, more or less com licated in structure and-involves variable il umination and visibility of the. screen on which the picture is reproduced. In accordance with m invention, these difliculties are largely avoided or altogether obvf 1 luminated screen which is arranged to its contour and shading varied in accordance withthe shading of the picture.

My invention will be better understood from the followin description when considered in connection with the accompany-' ing drawings and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a picture producing a paratus wherein my invention as been em bodied; and Figs. 2 to 6 illustrate various details in the construction of this receiving apparatus.

1 which This apparatus comprises a screen is arranged to be continuously illuminated by suitable light sources 2 and 3 andis provlded with a plurality of movable elements controlled by commutator-s or contact making devices land 5,connected to a radio receiver through cables 7 and 8. The commutators 4 and 5 are mechanicall coupled together through gears 9 to 12 for t e purpose of maintaining a definite. relation betweenv their s eeds of rotation'and are arran ed to be riven by a motor 13 which is coup ed to the gear 11 and isaoperatedin synchronism with a picture transmitting apparatus (not shown). Each of the'squares in the screen 1 re resents one of a pluralit of elemental sur aces which are controlled y the commutators 4 and 5 and may be moved in a ditecate 7 or LosANenLEs, currents, ASSIGNOB mo GENERAL nmcrmc compan a coarom'non or NEW-YORK. I

tion perpendicular to the screen surface for the purpose of varying the amount of light reflected from them. The actual construction of the screen 1 will be readily understood upon consideration of Figs. 2 to 6.

As indicated by these figures, each elemental portion 14 of the screen may be made ii the formof a pyramid, a cone or the like,

supported on pivoted members 15 and arranged to be moved transversely to' the surface of the screen b means of electrorespom sive devices '16 whic are energized in accot'dance with the current transmitted to them through the radio receiver 6, the cables 7 and 8, the commutators and" 5' and the cables 17 and 18. This current varies in accordance with the shading of the picture to be produced, and it will be readily understood that, when the picture transmittin and receiving apparatus are properly sync ronized, the magnitude of the currents supplied to the electroresponsive devices 16 controllingthe variouselementaHportions 14 of the re tions of the picture or image to be transmitted. Under these conditions, the position of each elemental portion 14 of the screen, and the amount of light which each of these portions receives from the sources 2 and 3 and reflects is dependent on the 'shadingof a ture or ima e. v r

The rapidity with which the electrical conmotions are changed from one to another of the electroresponsive devices 16 is dependent on the rotational'speed of the drivcorresponding elemental portion of the pic mg motor 13 and ordinarily need not be faster than that required to complete the connections of all the electroresponsive devices more than once every one sixteenth of a second. Thus assuming for example that the screen 1 is square and contains one hundred elemental surface portions, the commutator 5 shou'ldb'e drivenat a s eed of 160 revo- .lutions per second .and' t e'ficommutator 4 should be driven at a speed of 1600 revolutions per second. I The manner in which the reflected light is determined by the positions of the elemental portions 14 of the screen 1 is indicated more clearly by Fig; 3 wherein four different p'ositions of these elements are indicated. It will be observed that the maximum amount of light is reflected by the upperelemental sur I face, that less light is reflected 'by' the next lower elemental surface,-that still less light is reflected by the nextlower elemental sur' face, and that the lowest elemental surface is substantially black. It should .be clearly understood thatall parts of the screen except the elemental surfaces are black, that these surfaces are white, and that the screen is continuously illuminated in a plane parallelwith its surface. Under these conditions, the

illumination and visibility of the screen are continuous and the shading of the'reproduced picture is altogether dependent on the posi-' tionsof the various elemental surfaces;

It will be readily understood-'by those" skilled in the art that continuous illumination of the screen has the advantages that the intensity of the illumination is unlimited, the variability the source of light is eliminated, economy in the light apparatus is produced and the screen is made independent of the source of light; and that continuous visibility is advantageous in that each elemental surface has the same permanent visibility rechange in the position of theelemental surfaces; of'the screen occurs only where the I shading of the icture tobe transmitted has :a predetermine value, and the speed at which the screen is scanned may be reduced to one eighth of a second without producing objectionable flickering. It will be apparent that any suitable meanspther than those shown and described may be utilized for varying in accordance with the picture to be produced.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated and described herein hasbeen selected 'gardle'ss of the number of light sources, 8.

for the purposeof clearly setting forth the principles involved. It will be apparent, however, that the invention is susceptible of being modified to meet the different condi-.

pyramidal surfaces arranged to have their positions determined by the shading of the picture to be produced. {f 1 2. A picture producing apparatus comprising a screen provided with movable pyramidal surfaces, means for illuminating said screen, and means for causing said surfaces to assume positions dependent on the shading of the-picture to be produced on said screen.

3. A picture producing apparatus comp'ris ing a screen provided with a plurality of pyramidal surfaces arranged to be moved inf dependentlyof one another, and means for continuously illuminating said sceren.

4. A picture producing apparatus comprising a screen provided with a lurality of pyramidal surfaces movable in ependently of one another,

pendent on'the shading of the picture.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 29 day of December, 1927.

AUGUSTQ issrar;

means for continuously illummatmg said screen, and means forv cans-Q ng said surfaces to assume positions de- 

